From its humble origins using just a few simple ingredients, pizza has become the ultimate blank canvas inviting endless culinary creativity. Pizza has traveled the world, and shapeshifted along the way.
In the Sacramento region, we have myriad pizza joints representing the great diversity of styles. It would be impractical for us to catalog every place, but we’ve picked a bunch that most often bubble up as community favorites, and broke them out by style.
With so many styles, it begs the question: Does Sacramento have its own unique style of pizza?
NeapolitanWhat it is
The mother of all pizza, Neapolitan-style pizza hails from, as the name suggests, Naples, Italy. True Neapolitan pizza adheres to a strict set of rules governed by a consortium called Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana.
According to the rules, the dough must be made with 00 flour (a finely ground style of wheat flour), natural or brewer’s yeast, salt and water, no more, no less. The dough must be mixed by hand or a low-speed mixer, and the rounds must be made without the help of a rolling pin.
The pepperoni pizza at Good Neighbor in Sacramento on Jan. 29. HANNAH RUHOFF Sacramento Bee file
Even the oven is proscribed: A dome-shaped wood-fired oven is the traditional version, but the AVPN does offer a list of certified electric ovens. They must get hot enough, around 900 Fahrenheit, to cook the pizza in just 60 to 90 seconds.
The two original styles of Neapolitan pizza are Margherita, which has San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella di bufala and basil, and marinara, which is the same tomato sauce with olive oil, garlic and oregano — no cheese.
The finished pizza should have a thin crust with a puffy cornice around the edges, spotted with charring. It’s not uncommon for the center to be a little underdone and loose.
We have no true AVPN-certified pizzerias in the Sacramento region, but we do have several that can qualify as Neapolitan in style. Good Neighbor’s chef Zach Schechtman makes what he calls “Neo-Neapolitan” pies in the restaurant’s wood-fired dome oven.
Zach Schechtman, Good Neighbor’s executive chef, grates cheese over a pepperoni pizza at the Sacramento restaurant on Jan. 29. HANNAH RUHOFF Sacramento Bee file Where to get it
Masullo
Address: 2711 Riverside Blvd., Land Park
Phone number: 916-443-8929
Website: masullopizza.com
Good Neighbor
Address: 170 R St., midtown
Phone number: 916-758-6194
Website: goodneighbor916.com
Flour Dust Pizza Co.
Address: 5080 Foothills Blvd., Roseville
Phone number: 916-773-5080
Website: flourdustpizza.com
Benji’s Woodfire Pizza
Address: 7530 Auburn Blvd., Citrus Heights
Phone number: 916-801-7163
Website: benjiswoodfirepizza.com
Bobby Masullo, owner of Masullo Pizza, takes the “Eileen” out of the oven at his restaurant in Land Park in Sacramento on Jan. 23, 2020. Named after Masullo’s mother who loves bacon, the Eileen is a pizza with mozzarella, crimini mushrooms, bacon, cream, sage and black pepper. DANIEL KIM Sacramento Bee file New YorkWhat it is
When Neapolitan pizza made the leap across the Atlantic, it took root in New York, according to the Museum of the City of New York. The Big Apple’s pizza is similar in many ways to Neapolitan, but it tends to be sturdier, with a well-cooked crust that can be picked up and folded. The real deal should also have a slick of orange oil that drips satisfyingly as you eat.
Anyone who’s spent any significant time in New York is familiar with the slice shop, small pizza joints barely big enough for the oven and a counter to sell slices from. They’re a fixture of the city’s fast and cheap dining scene, right up with bagels, knishes and dirty water hot dogs. These are the places you pop into before kicking off your night out — or after you’re winding down.
Giovanni’s Old World New York Pizza manager prepares pepperoni pizza for the oven in 2002. OWEN BREWER Sacramento Bee file Where to get it
Giovanni’s New York Pizza
Address: Locations in South Land Park and East Sacramento (see website)
Website: giovannisnypizzeria.com
Uncle Vito’s Slice of N.Y.
Address: 1800 15th St., Richmond Grove
Phone number: 916-382-4419
Website: unclevito.com
Johnny’s NY Pizzeria
Address: 2830 Sunset Blvd., Rocklin
Phone number: 916-626-1487
Website: johnnysnypizzeria.net
Bicycle Thief
Address: 122 East Main St., Grass Valley
Website: bicyclethiefgv.com
Slice shops
Marilyn’s Pizza Slice
Address: 2011 J St., midtown
Phone number: 916-860-1212
Website: marilynspizza.com
Pieces Pizza by the Slice
Address: 1309 21st St., midtown
Phone number: 916-441-1949
PinsaWhat it is
A style specific to the Lazio area outside Rome, pinsa differs in that the dough is made with wheat flour combined with soy and rice flours, giving it a lighter, chewier texture and more puff. Pinsa is typically oval in shape. Pinsa was invented by Corradi Di Marco possibly as early as 1981, and trademarked in 2001. Di Marco manufactured a legend that it had its roots in ancient Rome, but later confessed that was not true.
We have just one producer of pinsa in the Sacramento region, Bambina’s, and it’s far from common in other areas as well. Bambina’s also produces Neapolitan-ish “Bambina style” and Sicilian style pizzas, and is looking to roll out a Roman al taglio style in the next few months.
Bambina’s Pizza and Pasta owner Juanes Ramazzini holds three styles of pizzas: pinsa, Sicilian style and “Bambina style,” on Oct. 10, 2024. LEZLIE STERLING Sacramento Bee file Where to get it
Bambina’s Pizza and Pasta
Address: 1610 R St., midtown
Phone number: 916-476-4583
Website: bambinaspizza.com
Owner Juanes Ramazzini spins pizza dough on Oct. 10, 2024, at Bambina’s Pizza and Pasta. LEZLIE STERLING Sacramento Bee file Apulian
What it is
Naples is in Campania, the shin of the boot of Italy; Apulia is the heel. The Apulian style, specifically the city of Bari’s Barese, is ultra-thin and crisp. It’s lightly topped and made with type 1 flour, somewhat coarser than the 00 used in Neapolitan, making it more rustic. Sacramento has just one place that makes Apulian pizzeria, and in fact we are one of only a handful American cities that has one. Dodici brought in a pizza chef from Bari to consult train the staff.
Manager Jackson Wells adds toppings to a pizza order at Dodici Pizza on March 6 in Sacramento. JOSÉ LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com Where to get it
Dodici Pizza
Address: 400 12th St., Alkali Flats
Phone number: 916-754-2649
Website: dodici-pizzeria.com
Lauren Titus, Lindsay Foletta, and Kathleen Gormley enjoy their lunch at Dodici Pizza in Sacramento on March 6. JOSÉ LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com SicilianWhat it is
Much akin to a focaccia, Sicilian-style pizza is a thick, fluffy, bready crust that fills a sheet pan. As with similar puffy-style pizzas as grandma and Detroit (see below), tomato sauce is typically applied on top of the cheese to avoid sogginess in the crust and to prevent burning the cheese on long bake times. Alongside its New York-style pies, Pizza Supreme Being sells “squares” of Sicilian-style pizza. Besides its Sicilan pizzas, La Porta also does a Detroit style and “pizza di Toscana,” with a slightly thicker crust than Neapolitan.
Executive Chef Juan Ramazzini, left, holds a Parma pizza while owner Aaron Parker holds a Sicilian-style Catania pizza inside of La Porta Restaurant & Bar in Arden Arcade on April 16, 2024. CAMERON CLARK Sacramento Bee file Where to get it
Pizza Supreme Being
Address: 1425 14th St., downtown
Phone number: 916-917-5559
Website: pizzasupremebeing.com
La Porta Restaurant & Bar
Address: 1860 Howe Ave., Arden Arcade
Phone number: 916-696-6881
Website: laportarestaurants.com
A pizza cools down after being removed from the oven at La Porta Restaurant & Bar on April 16, 2024. CAMERON CLARK Sacramento Bee file Grandma styleWhat it is
Similar to Sicilian, grandma pizza is typically smaller, the size of a small sheet pan, with a thinner crust in the center. Though this may seem like some kind of American adaptation, this style is in fact very common in Italian home kitchens.
Where to get it
Pizzasaurus Rex
Address: 2322 K St., midtown
Phone number: 916-476-5712
Website: eatpizzasaurusrex.com
Detroit styleWhat it is
A unique form of deep-dish pizza, Detroit style gets its signature form from flare-sided dark metal pans, according to the Detroit Free Press. The blue steel pans were originally — according to legend — used for auto parts. The thick, bready crust is topped with cheese all the way to the edges, where it creates crispy bits known as frico. Toppings are added, and sauce is ladled on in parallel stripes across the top. A new Detroit pizzeria, Frico, is expected to open at 1429 Broadway in May or June.
Where to get it
Sette Pasta House
Address: 6851 Douglas Blvd., Granite Bay
Phone number: 916-872-1266
Website: settepastahouse.com
Motorhead Pizza
Address: 3281 Swetzer Road, Loomis
Phone number: 279-252-9211
Website: eatmotorheadpizza.com
Chicago deep dishWhat it is
The Windy City’s most famous export puts the pie in pizza pie. A buttery dough, halfway between pizza and short crust, lines a pie pan or skillet, and is then filled with cheese, meats and tomatoes on top. Though the pie has multiple origin stories, according to National Geographic, it is undeniable the resulting dish is dense, gooey and deeply gratifying.
Across the city, Sacramentans know Zelda’s Original Gourmet Pizza is the hottest place to get an authentic Chicago deep dish pie. Founder Zelda Breslin launched her shop in 1978, after gaining culinary pizza training at a Chicago pizzeria.
Breslin died in 2006, according to previous Bee reporting, and her family took over the restaurant in her stead. In 2024, the family sold the restaurant to Jon Stevenson and Beau Cornell, who have been running the still-popular shop for just over a year.
Beau Cornell and Jon Stevenson, right, pose for a portrait at Zelda’s, a historic pizza restaurant which they bought in 2024, in Sacramento on March 9. HANNAH RUHOFF hruhoff@sacbee.com
Stevenson and Cornell believe Breslin was one of the first people to bring deep dish to the Sacramento region, and possibly the entire state of California.
“It’s strangely a divisive pizza, because people have very personal tastes about what pizza is, what it should be,” Cornell said. “It’s like a love-it-or-hate-it kind of thing, but the people who love it are rad.”
Chicagoans have a deep reverence for the thick, unique pizza style, and Cornell and Stevenson said visitors from the Windy City have claimed Zelda’s is the most authentic version of the pie in California.
“It’s the same recipe, that hasn’t changed (since opening in 1978)” Cornell said. “We would’ve been fools to change the recipe.”
The spinoccoli pizza, which is a deep dish pizza consisting of broccoli, seasoned spinach, mozzarella, feta, cheddar, and fresh tomato slices, at Zelda’s in Sacramento on March 9. HANNAH RUHOFF hruhoff@sacbee.com Where to get it
Zelda’s Original Gourmet Pizza
Address: 1415 21st St., midtown
Phone number: 916-432-3871
Website: zeldasgourmetpizza.com
Tavern styleWhat it is
Another style originating in Chicago, this thin-crust pizza features a crisp, buttery crust typically topped with tomato sauce and a blend of mozzarella and provolone cheeses. Unlike most other pies, tavern style is cut “party style,” crosswise in a grid as opposed to wedges.
Eric Schnetz, who founded the Chicago Fire pizza chain, poses in the main dining room at his Chicago Fire restaurant in Folsom in 2015. PAUL KITAGAKI JR. Sacramento Bee file Where to get it
Chicago Fire
Address: Locations in midtown, Folsom and Roseville (see website)
Website: chicagofire.com
Indian fusionWhat it is
Indian fusion pizza places have exploded throughout the region recently. One spot, Tandoori Pizza, was even founded by UC Davis alumnus Tejinder “TJ” Singh, who grew it to a national chain. Local influencer Jerry James Stone recently did a taste-off, and among his friends Curry Pizza House prevailed, with San Francisco-based Bollywood Pizza coming in second for flavor.
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Paul Singh, the father of one of the owners of Tandoori Pizza at Downtown Commons, serves pizza on Oct. 15, 2025, to guests during the restaurant’s grand opening. HECTOR AMEZCUA Sacramento Bee file Where to get it
Curry Pizza House
Address: Locations in Sacramento, Folsom and Roseville (see website)
Website: currypizzahouse.com
Bollywood Pizza
Address: 6601 Folsom Blvd., East Sacramento
Phone number: 916-758-8975
Website: bollywoodpizza.com
Tandoori Pizza
Address: Locations in downtown Sacramento and Elk Grove (see website)
Website: tandooripizza.com
A Chicken Tikka pizza is pulled out of the oven during the grand opening of Tandoori Pizza at Sacramento’s Downtown Commons on Oct. 15, 2025. The pizza includes a creamy garlic sauce, mozzarella cheese, red onions, diced tomatoes, chicken tikka, green onions and cilantro. HECTOR AMEZCUA Sacramento Bee file California/ingredient-drivenWhat it is
If you could say there is a Sacramento-style pizza, it would be in the context of a broader category of pizzas that fit the farm-to-fork aesthetic. These pies are highly seasonal, driven by ingredients fresh from the farmers markets. Toppings can change daily. Crust style is less important than showcasing the glory of market produce.
Waterboy chef, Rick Mahan, is the standard-bearer of the city’s farm-to-fork scene. It’s on full display at his pizza restaurant and its daily special pizzas. Downtown’s Majka Pizza’s fresh touch was enough to garner it a nod from Michelin last year.
OneSpeed chef and owner Rick Mahan stands in OneSpeed’s dining room in 2020. XAVIER MASCARENAS Sacramento Bee file Where to get it
OneSpeed Pizza
Address: 4818 Folsom Blvd, East Sacramento
Phone number: 916-706-1748
Website: onespeedpizza.com
Majka Pizza
Address: 1704 15th St., downtown
Website: majkabakes.com
One Speed Pizza’s Rick’s pie — named after proprietor Rick Mahan — has mortadella, potatoes, caramelized onions, olives, chevre, fontina, Parmesan and salsa verde. XAVIER MASCARENAS Sacramento Bee file
This story was originally published March 14, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
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The Sacramento Bee
Sean Timberlake is the food and dining reporter for The Sacramento Bee. He has been writing professionally for nearly 30 years, and about food for 20. A variety of well-known outlets have published his work, including Food Network, Cooking Channel, CNN, Sunset Magazine and SF Weekly.
The Sacramento Bee
Camila Pedrosa is a service journalism reporter at The Sacramento Bee. She previously worked as a summer reporting intern for The Bee and reported in Phoenix and Washington, D.C. She graduated from Arizona State University with a master’s degree in mass communication.